Communication networks have a range of bandwidths. A low bandwidth network generally provides slower transfer of the same amount of digital information as compared to a high bandwidth network. The comparatively slow transfer rate of low bandwidth networks may create difficulties when transferring large amounts of digital information. Multimedia digital information, e.g. audio, video, etc., generally requires high bandwidth networks for its transmission, as multimedia digital information files are generally large. Transferring those large multimedia files over low bandwidth networks may be impractical because of time, efficiency and/or cost constraints.
Low bandwidth networks, however, are often more convenient than high bandwidth networks. Thus, the user may use a low bandwidth network because of convenience, but be unable or unwilling to access multimedia files over that same low bandwidth network, thus leading to difficulties for the multimedia digital information provider. On the one hand, the potential audience for the multimedia provider's content may be greater in the low bandwidth network space, yet on the other hand, the provider may simply be unable to reach that audience with the content because of the difficulties in transmitting multimedia content over a low bandwidth network.
Accordingly, there exists a need for apparatus and methods that provide both the benefits of low bandwidth access and the capacity of high bandwidth access to multimedia digital information services.